Cell phone use while driving

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Use of Phones while Driving
Distractions due to cell phone use while driving is an ever-increasing menace that leads to road carnage. Using a mobile phone while driving is often downplayed when compared to drunk driving, when statistically; accidents are six times more likely to occur while using the phone than DUI. The use of mobile devices while driving accounts for 1.6 million crashes involving 330,000 Americans annually (Cohen 67). Despite numerous campaigns against the habit, more people continue with the vice since they want to keep in touch with their families and business while endangering their lives and others.
Proponents of using mobile devices while driving justify the act by citing the hands-free feature which allows the drivers both hands to be actively engaged in the driving. However, hands-free devices do not eliminate the risk posed by driving while using mobile devices. The problem in this argument is that it does not take into account that the conversation on the phone distracts the driver and makes it very hard for the driver to adjust his brain to sudden events that may occur on the road, such as an unexpected car swerve or pedestrian. The hands-free feature is therefore not foolproof since it does not account for the driver’s reaction when distracted from sudden events.
Business people argue that with technological advancements in handheld devices and mobile phones, phones have become part and parcel of their routine. Businesses can get demanding and frustrating, hence can cause a lapse in judgment or emotional outbursts that can prove tragic on the road.

One may get upset or lose sight of the way while using phones while driving, consequently end up endangering their lives and others.
Work cited
Cohen, Joshua T., and John D. Graham. “A revised economic analysis of restrictions on the use of cell phones while driving.” Risk Analysis: An International Journal 23.1 (2003): 5-17.